Book Review: Chronicles Vol.1 - Bob Dylan

Normally, when you read an autobiography, you are taken from the early childhood days of an individual right through to the present day. Of course, if you buy a book about a famous film start, their childhood is normally only of interest to give a context, it's not actually what made you buy the book. Most people want to read about the 'career' aspect of a person, that element of their life that made them famous, that is, the reason you bought the book in the first place.

This is not a normal autobiography. Instead of tracing a whole life from early beginnings, Dylan drops us into 1961, when he arrives in New York as an aspiring musician with a few Woody Guthrie songs, and little else. But then, far from describing a series of events in the way of a story, Dylan sems to have collated a bunch of notes spanning factual events, places, thoughts, influences, reading material and so on. In this respect, it often reads more like a notepad than structured prose. But a lyrical notepad nevertheless, one with rhythm that skips along, and always informs. Then, just as you're enjoying the style, and progressing down the timeline, he whisks you away to another time in his life, when he is a bit more established. Initially, I found this frustrating, because I was enjoying it so much, but it allows him to maintain the style about different aspects of his life. There are five such pieces, spanning 15 or so years, and their focus is different each time.

But these aren't the only frustrations. Those expecting to read about how he writes his songs, his drug use, his relationship with Joan Baez or the day he went electric will be disappointed. He seems more intent on describing the books he has read, and how he really wasn't a protest singer, in so doing protesting a bit too much. But even though his own destiny seemed clear from the start, he speaks with genuine affection of others who influenced him, including Daniel Lanois, who seems to have exasperated him as much as influenced him on the recording of Oh Mercy.

That criticism aside, this is a very personal account, and makes a compelling read. To read the same lyrical style on paper that has made him one of the greatest songwriters of modern times is a delight, and his own idiosynchrasies only add to the intrigue. I eagerly await volume 2, and have no doubt that it will be every bit as revealing, thoughtful and maddening in equal measure. 8/10.